Dolly Parton’s former co-star, Danica McKellar, is sharing who the country music legend really was when the cameras weren’t rolling.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, McKellar said Parton told her she would only sleep three to five hours a night and then wake up and do her own hair and makeup.
“She told me she only slept three to five hours a night. She was always dreaming stuff up and just busy. She’d sleep on her big travel bus if she was traveling and doing things and wake up early in the morning. … She did her own hair and makeup, her own wig and her own makeup. And she’d get to work,” McKellar said.
McKellar’s professional relationship with Parton began through Parton’s Imagination Library, which included McKellar’s children’s book, “Goodnight, Numbers,” in its literacy program.
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McKellar later narrated the documentary “The Library That Dolly Built” before pitching the idea for the 2019 Hallmark movie “Christmas at Dollywood,” in which she starred opposite Parton.
While working with Parton, McKellar told Fox News Digital, the “9 to 5” singer was “everything that you hope she could possibly be and much more.”
“She’s incredible. Great work ethic. She wanted to rehearse a lot, and I was like, ‘I would love to rehearse with you.’ I’d love to just be in her presence. She was incredible. She walked on the set and made everyone feel comfortable because people were so nervous to meet Dolly Parton.
“And she just walked on this set and said, ‘Merry Christmas everybody.’ Like to the whole room and everyone just was charmed. Like, that was it.”
WATCH: Dolly Parton slept just 3 hours and did her own hair and makeup, co-star recalls
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WATCH: Dolly Parton charmed everyone on set with one simple Christmas greeting, co-star says
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Parton died Aug. 25, 2026, at age 80 after what her team described as a brief battle with cancer. The country music icon died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville surrounded by loved ones.
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McKellar believes Parton would want her legacy to remind people to treat one another with kindness.
“Because she knew how to make everybody feel good about themselves,” McKellar said. “That’s what she taught me the most. And what I think is her message for the world, ‘Treat each other kindly. You have a choice. You have so much power, more power than you realize.’”
